Strawberry Assassin
by Akrximay
Summary: Ichigo is a master assassin who's not supposed to have a heart; Grimmjow is determined to mess with normality. Ichigo has to make choices and deal with the consequences. After one of those choices he has to deal with insanity, continue taking targets, and face new love. How's he supposed to handle life when it's thrown at him so harshly? YAOI! MaleXMale. Adopted Fic! Rated MA!
1. Chapter 1

AN: So I adopted this fic from lemonlimediddies. She put all her stories up fro adoption and I snagged this one and One Of Those Days, so please dont report me or the story because I do have permission to have it up from the author.

Now that that's out of the way, Hi! I have been wanting to put up a story for my favorite pairing (GrimmIchi/IchiGrimm) but I havent been able to get any ideas and it so happened that I noticed this was up for adoption and I gladly took it under my wing. I have changed a lot of things in the first 13 chapter that lemonlimediddies had, so if you have read this story before please reread the first chapters. If not you might be lost later on.

Ill be posting every monday, but same policy as LIU(Love Is Unstoppable), 12 reviews and you guys get an early update. So please enjoy the story and please remember Review and **DONT **Report!

With Craziness,

Akrximay

* * *

**Assassin**: One who murders by surprise attack, especially one who carries out a plot to kill a prominent person.

_"Hello, I'm crime scene reporter Kimi Watson streaming to you live from Governor Jonathan Willson's home. As you can see behind me, his family is simply heartbroken. About an hour ago someone broke into the Governor's private estate while Jonathan was getting ready for bed. His wife, Nancy, and sixteen year old son Stuart Wilson were apparently sleeping when the intruder broke in and apprehended the forty-eight year old Jonathan. Nancy and Stuart both claim they heard nothing at all, not even while their loved one was killed. Police believe that the murderer is none other than the worldwide assassin called 'Tensa', who is a nationally wanted criminal and murderer. Criminal investigators are already searching the house for evidence, but so far they have found no traces of an intruder inside or outside of the estate. Now I'd like to send you over to Maya Rivers, who is currently at the local police station with the leader of the investigation. Maya?"_

_"Thank you Kimi, that is simply horrible and I send my regards to the Willson family. Now I'm standing here with local police chief Shinji Hirako and his lieutenant Tier Harribel, who have been working with investigators all over Japan and other areas around the world whom have had troubles with this assassin 'Tensa' and other wanted assassins like him. Hirako-san, can you describe what it's like to be chasing this person who calls himself Tensa?"_

_"Oh man it's absolutely horrible, right Harribel?" He received a nod from the young woman. " I mean the guy must be a master at covering his tracks, 'cause he never leaves anything behind fer us. No finger prints, no footprints, not even any strands of hair. It's like chasing a freakin' shadow. A murderin' shadow!"_

_"I see. So, no one knows anything about Tensa's physical characteristics then?_

_"No, none at all."_

_"Okay than, tell me about his famous uniform. I've heard many things about it. Care to describe it for the viewers?"_

_"Well, it's kind of hard to explain Miss, because the five actual pictures of him are all blurry. He always wears this cloak, it's pure white, with the hood up over his head which hides his face even more than it already is. Then, there's his _mask. _Give's me the chills just thinkin' 'bout it."_

_"Oh? Why is that Hirako-san? Is there something wrong with it?"_

_"Well if you think a mask that looks like it's about to eat yer soul right from yer body is wrong, then yes. Something is definitely wrong with it."_

_"Oh my! Another quick question Hirako-san, why do you think police believe Tensa is the killer?"_

_"Well he's really unlike any other typical murderer out there— I'll correct myself; Tensa is not a murderer, he's an assassin. A bloody assassin that the investigators, including myself, can't seem to catch."_

_"And that was also the case today?"_

_"Yeah Maya, it was. There is absolutely no way this crime was done by anyone besides the infamous Tensa and personally I think-"_

Ichigo didn't even blink as a hand swooped down to grab the remote out of his grasp and cut the power to the TV off abruptly. The teenager sighed. He really wanted to hear more of their comments on Tensa's recent killing. Ichigo's recent killing. The brutal one that had happened less than two hours ago, and already Tensa was headlining every news channel and every one of tomorrow's papers. Ichigo reclined his head back against the lumpy brown couch he was on to look at the person still standing behind him. It was difficult because of the poor lighting, but Ichigo would know that green and white stripped hat anywhere.

"Yes, Kisuke-san?"

"Make sure not to call me by my real name in public, kid."

"Yes, sir." The teen replied respectfully to his teacher.

"Why are you watching that Ichigo?" The blond man asked as he walked over to the side of the couch to look at the teenager's face more easily. He knew Ichigo had just finished a very important job, and earned a bunch of money for his dangerous excursion.

"It's interesting."

"Well quit watching TV and get yourself in gear. We just got another job. Get your stuff packed and get dressed, were heading out as soon as possible."

"How much is this one worth?" Ichigo asked suddenly extremely interested in the case. Money was always one of the important aspects of killing. They got paid tons of cash every time a job was completed, plus the money paid for their very luxurious life and Urahara's fake candy business he owned. The taller man hid his grin behind a purple fan and shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly.

"Oh I don't know, maybe a million or so."

The teen gasped and abruptly stood up knocking some dust to fly into the dimly lit room. The particles flew in random directions as Ichigo smiled and practically bounced with excitement.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Hell yes! Now hurry up and get you mask and cloak. We got a long trip and some more crimes to commit!" Urahara said while stripping off his dirty clothes, and replacing them with fresh clothes that looked exactly the same. The older man paid no heed to the teen still in the room as he put on the black turtle neck and equally jet black slacks. Urahara looked up from tying his black dress shoes to see Ichigo still standing there.

"Ichigo, what part of 'hurry up' do you not understand?"

"Oh!" Ichigo practically skipped to his room. Ichigo's room was painted black and red, with his large bed against the left wall in the center. There was a little night stand next to the bed and a dresser next to his closet door on the opposite wall. A full length mirror was on the left side of the bed and was slightly cracked at the bottom from the time Ichigo passed out and fell against it with all his weight. Memories.

The orange haired teenager grabbed a medium sized bag to carry all his needed items in. It was a special bag, made by Kisuke himself. Kisuke wasn't only a top-notch assassin, but also one of the best scientists in the world. He made the bag so that it would hide all sorts of illegal items in without the chance of them being found. That way the bags could be brought onto a plane and there was no chance of them being caught.

His bare feet made hardly any noise on the hardwood floor as Ichigo shuffled towards his dresser to grab the clothes he wanted to pack. A few tight fitting t-shirts and dark skinny jeans went into the bag, along with a bunch of colorful underwear courtesy of Kisuke. Ichigo grabbed a white dress shirt, black slacks, and some dress shoes to wear to the airport. He quickly slipped his current clothes off and piled them in the floor, not really caring about where they landed. He put the dress shirt on and started to button it up with fingers that were shaking slightly with excitement. After that was done he pulled on the pants, a little too quickly, and got his legs stuck in one of the leg holes, falling onto the floor with a 'thud'.

"Shit!" He swore while picking himself off the floor and putting the slacks on for a second time without falling. He was an assassin dammit, he wasn't supposed to fall in clumsiness like that. He shook his head at the thought and previous falling as he put on his socks and black leather shoes. He stopped at trying to mentally pick out a color for the tie he was going to wear, undecided between a light blue one and his blood red one.

"Urahara!" Ichigo yelled down the hallway.

"Yes?" The blond man yelled his answer back.

"What color tie should I wear? The blue one or the red one?"

Urahara paused to think for a moment before yelling back. "I vote for red!"

"Thanks!" Ichigo ran over to his tie collection, which consisted over many varying colors and shades and grabbed the light blue one to put on. He always went with the opposite of what his mentor told him because he had an unconscious tendency to match them, which meant sometime in the near future Kisuke would be wearing a red tie. Ichigo thought it was a bit ridiculous and shook his head as he still grabbed the blood red tie and stuffed it in his bag.

After packing two bags full of clothes and items he didn't want to leave behind, Ichigo only had two more items that needed to be packed. He walked over to the corner of his room and shimmied one of his floorboards until it was loose enough to pull out, and set the piece of wood to the side. Beneath the wood was some hay which Ichigo quickly scooted to the side and bleach white filled his vision. Tensa's cloak. Ichigo grabbed the item and folded it gently before setting it in Urahara's special black bag. Lastly Ichigo looked down the hole and his mask stared back at him. He locked eyes with it and smiled.

When he put that mask on he was no longer Ichigo Kurosaki, he'd be Tensa. The assassin. The mass murderer and most wanted criminal. He would lose himself and forget about being the seventeen year old boy who went to school and had a family. He loved being Tensa more than anything; he didn't care about all the things that caused him worry. It was euphoric, and Ichigo was addicted to that feeling. Once he was Tensa, Ichigo felt like nothing could stop him.

There were two reasons Ichigo was different from other assassin in Japan. Number one was his skill level. He was one of the best, maybe _the_ best in all of Asia; that not including all those who are retired. He felt like a celebrity when it came to him being on the news and being on 'wanted' posters.

The second difference was his worldwide involvement. Everyone knew Tensa, everyone feared Tensa, and everyone guarded against Tensa, well tried.

Ichigo was grinning widely while pictures of his most recent murder of the Governor flashed through his head. Quickly he picked up his precious mask and gently set it on top of his cloak, and zipped the bag closed.

Ichigo strolled over to the mirror to look at himself one more time before grabbing all of his luggage and waltzed back down the hallway to the waiting Urahara, as fast as he could. After all, his mentor and a million dollar job were anxiously waiting for him.

* * *

Kisuke was waiting at the kitchen table with his partner in crime, a dark skinned woman with purple hair pulled back. Yoruichi was one of the people Urahara trusted with his life and more. She had been with him since he became an assassin, and she had taught him things Kisuke was sure any _normal_ person wouldn't ever want to know in their lifetime.

She was good, actually she was great at what she did, but her skill didn't even compare to Kisuke's student Ichigo. Tensa was a natural; he might have even been born with the talent to kill. Who knows?

Ichigo walked in looking absolutely lethal. Scowl in place, his bright orange locks wet with the water he stopped at the bathroom to run through the wild hair. The orangette was handsome and deadly; the looks and the skill all in one package. Kisuke had to admit, Ichigo's aura was threatening sometimes. Ichigo looked at Yoruichi and smiled, his head cocked to the side questioningly.

"Kitty's coming too?" Kitty had been Yoruichi's nickname ever since she was in high school and used to wear cat ears to class, which caused the students to make up a ridiculous name for her weird behavior.

"Yes, Ichigo I'm coming too. Three is better and safer than two, no?"

"Are you worried for us Kitty?" Ichigo asked tauntingly and smirked.

Yoruichi was fast, and Ichigo was in her embrace on the floor before he could even react to what happened. Urahara laughed at her attack and watched with a smile as the woman started to stroke Ichigo's hair.

"Lose the cocky attitude kid. You're like a son to me Ichigo and that guy over there," she pointed her thumb backwards to the grinning Kisuke, "he would be like a husband to me, but I could never imagine myself with a creep like him."

"Plus I'm gay." Kisuke shrugged while sipping his black coffee.

"Plus he's gay." She repeated.

Ichigo winced as her fingers combed out a tangle in his hair. The teen hadn't really bothered with it besides the water, and it wasn't like anyone could tell anyways. Ichigo still smiled and tried to enjoy the positive attention while it lasted, which happened to be only five minutes. After the peaceful minutes were up, Kisuke stood and pulled out a few designed jackets that were designed to go down to mid thigh level.

The one he threw at Yoruichi was black with rhinestones along the edges and some real animal fur lining the collar and inside of the coat. Ichigo held his up and scowled even deeper.

"Urahara!" He growled when the teenager noticed the strawberry embroidered on his breast pocket. The jacket itself was black, also with a bit of animal fur in the lining, but strawberries littered the expensive piece of clothing. Urahara and Yoruichi both laughed at his expression as the young assassin pulled it on along with his favored red scarf.

Kisuke's jacket was just plain black, so when he pulled it on they were officially ready to go. Ichigo thought it was funny how they had never been caught before. They were so obvious sometimes, even daring to carry their masks around in public with them occasionally. They were so obvious, they weren't obvious; guess that expression, 'Hide something in plain sight' worked. Their friends even went as far as to say that they were good people with high education and were on the right path. How wrong they were.

Ichigo was extremely happy that Kisuke had got someone to carry their luggage for them. Ichigo wasn't weak at all but he wasn't bulging with muscles either, plus he didn't really feel like carrying the bags through the large throngs of people in the lobby. They had servants for anything, laundry, sweeping, dishes, and now bag carrying. Ichigo, Kisuke, and Yoruichi along with their bag-carriers got into the personal elevator and headed up to floor level, where the lobby was located at.

* * *

As the six people stepped off Kisuke's elevator, occupants in the lobby stopped what they were doing to quickly bow and then carry on their tasks.

None of them really paid attention to the busy workers as they made their way to the front desk where a geeky looking male was furiously typing on the computer. He man looked up as Kisuke's shadow fell upon him, and he stood and bowed deeply before sitting down in his computer chair.

"Urahara-sama, what can I do for you?" He asked staring into pale grey eyes. Kisuke fanned himself and held it over his cheeky grin and tapped the ground with his newly acquired wooden cane.

"Actually I was hoping to see if we had a couple of plane tickets to Karakura Town waiting for us Ishida-kun." Urahara said sweetly to his front desk worker. Ishida was one of Urahara and Ichigo's friends, and accomplices. He knew about both of their true identities and was actually fine with it. So far he had done nothing but help and run The Shoten while they were both busy on missions.

"But of course." The boy pushed up his glasses and reached down into one of the desk drawers to retrieve three silver plane tickets. Urahara shoved them deep into one of his pockets and held out his hand for Ishida to shake.

"Thank you Ishida-kun~!" He sang cheerfully. Ichigo wanted to laugh at the display. Urahara wasn't so happy and laughing around many people, he was actually quite serious most of the time. Since he was in public though, the blond was acting like an immature idiot. Next to him Yoruichi was thinking the same thing while fixing her hair in a pocket mirror she always carried.

"Please be careful Urahara-sama, Kurosaki, and Yoruichi-sama." Ishida muttered from behind some paperwork he had in front of his face.

"Yes of course! Hold down the fort for us. Call me if we have any _customers_ come in."

Ishida smirked and moved the paperwork from in front of his face. His cheeks were a little red now and he seemed a little worried, but none the less he was more than willing to help his 'Urahara-sama'. Ichigo suspected Ishida had a thing for his mentor but said nothing about it.

But back on track, he knew Urahara was talking about the men and women who came in offering them 'jobs' to kill people or protect people. The jobs that actually mattered to Kisuke, and not this candy company he used as a cover-up for his base down below. Only Ishida, Ichigo, Yoruichi, and the man himself knew about it, no one besides those four were allowed to use to only elevator that led to it.

"I will call you right away if anyone drops by, sir."

"I can always count on you!" After that was said to the blushing Ishida, they all turned and headed for the limo outside waiting for them. Ishida sighed as the five men and one woman disappeared into the crowds of people. He was always worrying about their safety not that it mattered. Those three wouldn't stop taking jobs even if it killed them. Being an assassin was a dangerous obsession they all had, and were not quite ready to give up.

* * *

Ichigo sat next to the window and across from Kisuke and Yoruichi in the limo. Yoruichi had her legs crossed and her hands neatly folded in her lap. Urahara was in a similar position. Ichigo relished the warmth coming from the heater in the limo seeing as outside the frigid air was so cold that many people weren't leaving their houses on a regular basis anymore. Ichigo watched as the ones who decided to brave the cold walked on the sidewalk holding their jackets closed and rubbed their hands together to keep some warmth on the freezing skin. The teen observed as someone ran hurriedly on the sidewalk and abruptly fell, slipping on the ice that was scattered on random places across the sidewalk.

Ichigo burst out in a loud laughing fit that dissolved into a furious case of the giggles. Something about people falling made Ichigo lose it, and laugh like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Kisuke and Yoruichi looked at Ichigo questioningly. "What's so funny?" Urahara asked after Ichigo stopped laughing.

"People on the sidewalk keep slipping on ice. It's fucking hilarious!"

Yoruichi and the blond male looked at each other for a second before moving closer to the window to try and spot someone fall. People were bustling around busily, and it wasn't long until they spotted another person fall victim to the ice. All three laughed as a warmly dressed woman fell causing people around her to help her up and ask if she was okay.

"That was rather funny wasn't it?" The purple haired woman said after everyone had settled down and moved away from the windows and closer to the heating vents. Both men nodded their agreement with childlike wonder in their eyes and large grins spread on their faces.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes before Ichigo's curiosity go the best of him.

"Hey Urahara, this limo is sound proof isn't it?" He asked his teacher, who just happened to own the limo they were currently sitting in.

Once again he drew his fan up to his face and covered his grin.

"Why of course my darling Ichigo! Why do you ask?"

"This new job in Karakura Town, you never gave me the details on it."

"Oh~? I suppose it slipped my mind then." He said smiling again. Ichigo scowled. Kisuke's smiles were starting to get annoying.

"Everything slips your mind, old man." Yoruichi chimed in and playfully punched the man's arm. She laughed when Kisuke made a hurt facial expression and held his arm close to his body.

"But I'm only thirty-two! You're only three years younger than me!" He groaned and palmed his face with his 'unhurt' hand.

"Yes, and I'm only twenty-nine and Ichigo is only seventeen." She said back with a smirk on her face. She always won verbal battles against Kisuke.

"That's not fair! Just because you guys are younger, doesn't mean I'm actually _old_!" He countered with wide eyes and his bottom lip pouting. He looked like a puppy.

"Calm down Urahara! You're supposed to be telling me about the job we got, not arguing about your age." Ichigo muttered when he got fed up with the two adults' annoying bickering.

The older man let out a sigh and cleared his throat while the purple haired woman snickered in victory.

"A young anonymous man came by yesterday requesting we kill the man who his wife cheated on him with." He said while fishing around his leather briefcase to find the notes he took on the case. Finally he got them out and waved them around to show everyone he found it before reading from it.

"Ginjo Kugo, 6'2 with shoulder length slicked back, black hair. His only distinguishing mark, a vertical scar over his left eyebrow. He has fair skin, a lean-build, with brown eyes. Weight is 198 pounds. He's one of the co-owners of 'Xcution Inc.', which is an alcohol company that exports all types of liquor across the globe. Plus he's a millionaire. He has a 4 story mansion, pool, in-home theater, bowling arena, and the works."

Ichigo laughed. "Well I guess the poor guy got with the wrong married woman, now he gets to die. Just my kind of murder, don't ya think?" The teenager laughed.

"I just _love_ killing the rich ones!" he added after his laughter died down, with a cheeky grin.

* * *

"Hey Urahara?"

"Yes, Ichigo?" his mentor questioned. He looked at the orangette and met his eyes so they were being more respectful towards each other.

"What am I supposed to do about school work?" Ichigo had always been a top student at school, and although he had switched schools quite a few times, he had never once made anything below a B on his report cards and tests. Many colleges were already sending him brochures, asking for him to consider their college over all the other ones. He wasn't actually going to attend college, because his life was so dangerous he wasn't willing to take out a loan when his life wasn't guaranteed the next day. Maybe when he earned up enough money to pay for his education by himself, but until then he didn't plan on college.

Kisuke smirked as he reached behind the seat and grabbed a very heavy, and very bright colored orange backpack and slung it at the scowling teenager. Ichigo gasped at the heavy object filled his vision and he held out both hands to catch the flying object.

"Bastard!" Ichigo hissed as he let the heavy bag fall to the limo's carpeted flooring with a 'thump'.

"Yes I know Ichigo~!" He sang and fanned the air around him with a smile. A piece of Kisuke's hair was resting on his nose, but the offending hair didn't seem to bother him as much as it bothered Ichigo. Ichigo sighed as the annoying man kept ranting about meaningless things, and Yoruichi seemed to be ignoring him. Even though it was hard to drown out his loud voice, Ichigo feared he would go insane if Urahara's rambling kept reaching his ears; so Ichigo took out his IPod touch and put the music on full blast.

There was no way he was going insane this early in his life.

* * *

Ichigo jumped when Yoruichi shook him out of his stupor, and the teen pulled his ear buds out to hear what she had to say.

"Come on Ichigo, we're here."

Outside the limo was a busy airport, with hundreds of people walking towards their plane with luggage and pets. They was a huge variety of people there; nerds, jocks, old people, gangsters, lovebirds, moms and dads, people who didn't even know English, and flight attendants and workers. They were all busily scrambling about with children tugging them to the nearest kiosk to buy a snack. Ichigo frowned. He really hated people.

Urahara ushered him to the bag drop off, and watched as his little secretive black bag went into the machine as they walked though the metal detector. They were cleared and so was the luggage. Ichigo held in his laugh as they picked up his two bags and put them on the luggage cart, along with Kitty's and Kisuke's, for their plane to Karakura Town.

"Ichigo, you ready?" Yoruichi asked as they presented their tickets to the worker and made their way on the plane to their first class seats. The teen reclined his seat and lifted his feet as soon as he got in the expensive part of the cab and sat down. His feet were killing him!

"When am I not ready?" Ichigo smirked as he answered her question with another question. The woman smiled as she took her seat next to Kisuke and put her feet up as well.

"I guess you're right."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** So hi people! Sorry Ive been a little late with the updates. Im a few days behind on Love is Unstoppable and Kakashi Sensei, but Ill be updating them soon. As for this story Im glad im only a day behind, but Im still upset I didnt get it out yesterday, but whatever.

Here is the second chapter of Strawberry Assassin, please review and thank you to those that did last chapter!

* * *

**Cyan:** a moderate greenish-blue to bluish-green color.

Ichigo felt like throwing up as soon as he walked off the plane he had been on for almost three hours. Karakura Town was so much smaller and old looking than the city where he had been living in. There were no bright lights and skyscrapers blocking the sky. The orange head sighed as he grabbed his bags along with Kisuke and Yoruichi and made their way to a limo already waiting in front of the airport.

"Urahara where are we going to be staying at?" The teen asked as they sat down on the leather seats and got comfortable. Urahara gave Ichigo a creepy smile before answering.

"There is an underground base here called 'Las Noches' where a lot of people like us seek safety and shelter." the blond said while scratching his unshaven chin.

"So it's basically like a base camp for assassins? How do you even know about the place?"

The older man laughed and elbowed Yoruichi who scowled at him, irritated.

"The man who owns the place was a college associate of mine. He let me and Yoru-chan stay there when we were first starting out as assassins." He said giggling a little. The old man must have been remembering things from the old days or something of the sort, because all of a sudden he had a smile on his face and was staring out into space. Weird old man.

Ichigo looked over at Yoruichi and nodded towards Urahara. "Does he do that every time he gets near Las Noches?"

The woman sighed and closed the magazine she was reading. "I sure hope not."

Ichigo laughed and sat back in his seat so he could look out the window to pass time. There were trees here and lots of other green things unlike in the city. He kind of missed all the grass and being able to see the open sky, which were both rare because of all the building in the city. Ichigo sighed and crossed his legs.

He gazed out of the window and was a bit surprised to see he actually knew where they were at the moment. They were on a street Ichigo remembered playing on when he was a kid. They passed some swings where a few children were at and Ichigo could remember when he was five, and his dad would always take him there to play. With that memory Ichigo felt uncertainty surge through his body and he slowly turned his head to his mentor.

"Hey, old man."

Urahara blinked and looked at him with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. "Ichigo, for the last time I'm not old!" The blond man frowned and fake cried while Ichigo just got more worried.

"We're not going to my house are we?" The teen asked worriedly, while playing with his fingers on his lap. Ichigo most certainly wasn't expecting to see them anytime soon. After all these years, what would his dad think? Ichigo was getting anxious just thinking about his old man and two little sister who he abandoned.

Kisuke pulled out a yellow fan with a snap and fanned the warm air around him. "Of course we are my dear Ichigo! We couldn't come all the way out here and not see your family, now could we~?"

"Urahara..." Ichigo said with pain in his voice. His family was very important to him and the orange head had always tried to keep them out of Tensa's business. It wasn't really safe to involve his two little sisters and slightly crazy dad in his murderous affairs, was it? Ichigo had successfully avoided his family for years with Urahara's help. Ichigo scoffed at the thought,_ traitor_.

Ichigo felt like throwing up when the limo pulled up into his old driveway, that feeling within thirty minutes was less then pleasant. The house was still the same as Ichigo remembered from his childhood. How old were Karin and Yuzu now? It had been four years since he left, so that would mean they were twelve now. Ichigo was pained to even think about his little sisters growing up with a mass murderer for a brother.

The driver walked around to the door and opened for it the three assassins to get out. This was only going to be a brief visit anyway; Kisuke and Ichigo had things that gauged more important at the moment.

Ichigo led the walk up to the front door, Urahara and Yoruichi following behind the hesitant teen. The young man sighed and drug a hand though his orange hair nervously before gently knocking on the door. He waiting a few moments before footsteps could be heard coming towards the door, Ichigo started to panic as he heard the steps coming nearer.

_What will they think of me now? Do they hate me? Did they miss me? Am I going to be a bother to them? Should we leave before they answer the door?_

Ichigo realized it was too late to back out when the door slowly cracked open to reveal a small blond haired girl yawning tiredly. She looked at the three people standing there while rubbing the sleep out if her brown eyes.

"How can I help you?" The little girl asked in a polite voice. She was wearing silk pajamas, with a robe tied around her small body tightly.

"Yuzu?" Ichigo asked in a timid voice. He could hardly even recognize her from his memories. Behind the teen, Kisuke smirked. Ichigo was always brave and never shy about anything, except when it came to his family. It was weird how Ichigo could change from scowling and being grumpy to being scared and nervous.

"I-Ichigo?" Said orange haired teen looked up to see his dad standing in the doorway with wide eyes and a very confused expression.

"Hey Dad. Can we come in?"

The older man scratched his beard and moved to the side, a silent invitation for Ichigo and company to come inside. Isshin Kurosaki looked at Urahara as his old friend made his way inside with a smirk followed by an also smiling Yoruichi. Soon the group was sitting in a nicely furnished living room, with Yuzu and Karin sitting on Ichigo's lap with big smiles and wide eyes.

"Onii-chan, we missed you!" Yuzu squealed and her dark haired twin nodded her agreement. Ichigo laughed and ruffled the girls' hair causing them to giggle in delight.

"I missed you guys too."

"Where have you been Ichi-nii?" Karin said. The small girl adjusted herself on Ichigo's lap to get more comfortable, while the other occupants in the room listened intently. Ichigo was feeling weird emotions inside of him from being around his family. They were still the accepting and loving family he left four years ago...

A cough came from the other side of the room and Ichigo looked up to see his dad watching him with curious eyes. He cleared his throat before speaking his mind.

"Yeah, where have you been son?"

"I moved to the city with Urahara and Yoruichi-"

_Truth._

"So I could help them with Urahara's candy business-"

_Lie._

"Because I've always thought being a business man would be interesting-"

_Lie!_

"And Urahara picked me up so suddenly I never had time to say goodbye since you and the girls were gone-"

_LIE._

"And by the time we made it to the city, I had remembered that I didn't have your phone number and neither did he-"

_LIE!_

"So we looked in the phone book, but you weren't in there either and we didn't have enough money or time to fly back with school and all."

_So many fucking lies._

Urahara smirked from where he sat. Ichigo really did have the lying thing down. It was so easy for the teenager to spill lies from his lips without even thinking about it. It was a new story every time he told someone about his past or about where he came from, but most of the time Ichigo told the story that had just been spoken to his family.

"Oh, well that's interesting! How is the candy business going for you Urahara?" Isshin causally asked, apparently buying Ichigo's story.

"Maa, Maa~ it's all fine Isshin-san~ Tons of our delicious candies are being sold all over the world." Urahara grinned at his old friend. He didn't actually know much about what was going on with his business; the older man left that certain job to Ishida-kun, who was one of Kisuke's most trusted employee.

"Glad to hear it. How long do you plan on staying in town?"

Yoruichi decided she didn't want to be ignored, and casually answered for Ichigo and Urahara. "Only about a month, tops."

A very _very_ long month away from home, away from the safety of their own base, and away from the easy life they all had back in the city. What a bother.

Isshin frowned deeply and wrinkles appeared on his forehead. "Only a month?"

"Certainly."

Ichigo's dad sighed again. After crossing and uncrossing his legs, the man looked at his son once again, serous, intelligent eyes locking onto the young man's form. It had been four years since Ichigo had been in Karakura Town and Isshin had to admit, it was hard not having his son around. Although Ichigo had seemingly left them, his love for his only son had not wavered, and the twins and he had been awaiting the day Ichigo returned. He knew why Ichio had to leave even if he played the idiot at times, it was the reason he knew Kisuke and Yoruichi.

"Where will you all be staying?"

Urahara answered this time. "One of my dear friend's house." He gave Isshin a knowing look, which the brunette understood.

"Oh, I see." He answered with a nod.

"Don't worry dad," Ichigo said with a slight smile on his usually scowling face. "I'll be sure to come visit you and the girls."

"I'm looking forward to it, son. You've been gone for a long time; Karin and Yuzu have really missed you."

Ichigo smiled sadly and looked down at the now sleeping girls on his lap. They were both gripping a piece of his white dress shirt with little hands, and their small lips were parted in their deep sleep. It was five in the morning after all.

The dark haired man stood up and popped his back before walking over to his sleeping daughters and sweeping them up in his arms carefully. The twins didn't even stir as their father picked them up; instead they cuddled into his broad chest. The man disappeared upstairs quietly and returned a few minutes later without Karin and Yuzu, who were now peacefully sleeping in their beds.

Urahara and Yoruichi followed Ichigo and his dad to the front door. Outside the sun was starting to dimly light the morning sky, and Ichigo was feeling more than tired. He had been up all night on the plane because of his fear of heights, but thankfully Urahara had stayed up with him. Although the older man had proven himself crazy on more than one occasion, Urahara was a very important person to Ichigo.

"Come back and visit soon Ichigo, and maybe next time it could be at a more appropriate hour."

Ichigo turned around and smiled slightly at his father. Seeing his family was something Ichigo had avoided for many years, but now that he had seen them again Ichigo wasn't really ready to let them fall from his grasp again.

"Don't worry dad. I'll be back soon."

* * *

Driving down the road in the city was always entertaining. You could always see colorful lights and people who did stupid things at any time from dusk till dawn. Driving down the road in Karakura Town...was well...

Boring.

No one was walking around and there were no lights anywhere except for the now rising sun and the street lamps that lit up the road. Ichigo had fallen asleep soon after his departure from his dad's house and had awoken half an hour later to find that they were still driving.

Driving, driving, _and driving._

The teenager was quite tired of being transported around. He hadn't been able to actually rest since he left The Shoten, which had been almost a full day ago. The orangette sighed. He just wanted to have a nice rest and a soft bed, which Ichigo was hoping this place Kisuke was taking him, had.

"Kisuke~" Ichigo whined. The older man shook his head to wake up a little and looked at his student with drooping, red eyes.

"Don't whine at me so early in the morning, Ichi!" He whined back. Ichigo scoffed, it wasn't his fault he was whining like a kid. The teenager was tired and was on the verge of getting motion sickness.

"It's your fault, stupid! How much farther is this place?"

The man looked out the window and inspected the surroundings, which mostly consisted of trees and small hills. Where the hell were they?

"Ahh~" The blond man sighed happily. "We're nearly there."

Yoruichi snored lightly from where she was sleeping against a small pillow pressed to the window. The tan woman had passed out as soon as the trio had got into the car after leaving Isshin's house, and neither Ichigo nor his teacher had the balls to wake Yoruichi up after a long and eventful day.

After fifteen minutes of silent riding, the limo halted and Ichigo felt himself become more awake by the second. Urahara drowsily looked out the tinted window and Ichigo followed his example, looking out the window to find endless amounts of trees littering the area around them.

"Is this the right place?" The teenager asked while stepping out of the vehicle cautiously. The sun was midway up the sky now, signaling it was probably nearing eight or nine in the morning. Yoruichi was shaken awake by Kisuke, who feared for his life.

"Kisuke!" Yoruichi shouted causing the older man to stumble out of the limo and frantically scramble towards Ichigo. He stood behind Ichigo and used the tired teen as a shield while his friend stepped out of the car with a scowl and a dark aurora surrounding her.

"Maa Maa, Yoru-chan! I simply wanted to notify you that we have reached the wonderful Las Noches~!"

She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Really?"

"I am one-hundred percent sure. The entrance is," He pointed to an empty space in the sea of trees, "over there!"

"I don't quite understand Urahara." Ichigo muttered looking around for any kind of entrance, but nothing except lush trees filled his sight. The teen couldn't even spot an actual road, so Ichigo guessed the driver had actually driven out here on the grass.

"Let me lead the way~!" the eccentric man sang in an overly cheerful voice. The blond looked at the driver who was still standing near the limo with a blank expression. This was Kisuke's favored driver, and one of his most trusted friends. The driver would never think of uttering a word about his long time friend's, and employer's, actions.

"Tessai-san~" The slightly crazy blond spoke in a sing-song voice, addressing the tall, dark skinned, driver.

_Tessai is his name, huh?_ Ichigo thought while watching Urahara softly converse with the other male. Ichigo didn't really get to know Urahara's employees nor did he care about what they did after they were done servicing them. All that mattered to him was that the people working around him kept Ichigo and company's activities to themselves, and never spoke a word of them to anybody.

Tessai looked to be about the same age as Kisuke, seeing as Kitty looked much younger than what she was. He was wearing a fancy black and white suit and his hair was styled in cornrolls that reached down to his shoulders. The two were acting so familiar with each other, causing Ichigo to get suspicious.

He was about to ask Urahara about what was going on, but Yoruichi's voice sounded out before he could.

"Ne Kisuke, what are you whispering about?" She asked while eyeing her two friends intently.

"Introductions, introductions!" He said while fanning himself with a small white fan that seemingly popped out of nowhere.

"This is Tessai Tsukabishi, my top quality and most trusted driver and one of my dear friends. Tessai-san, that woman is Yoru-chan but you already knew that, and the scowling teenager is Strawberry-chan."

"Stop distorting our names, baka!" Ichigo yelled while he beat Kisuke on the head with his fist. The orangette angrily pouted and crossed his arms like a child while Urahara stood up slowly shaking his head.

Yoruichi walked up to Urahara and slapped him across the face, knocking his back onto the grass groaning. She then walked over to Tessai and gave the man a bright smile.

"Nice to see you again Tessai." Yoruichi told the man, while giving him a loving hug.

"It's always a pleasure to see you again Yoruichi." she stepped away from the tall man allowing Ichigo to walk over to the driver. He stuck out his hand to shake, which the bi-spectacled man took with another large smile.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, don't listen to that old man." The other man chuckled causing Ichigo to furrow his brow.

"What?" He asked while the other man was still silently laughing. His brown eyes were shining behind his glasses in the new sunlight, and Tessai was starting to freak Ichigo out.

"Nice to meet you… Strawberry-sama."

Oh. _Hell. _No.

Before Ichigo could properly punch the laughing driver, he was pulled back and away from him by none other than Yoruichi. Kisuke was back on his feet now, and waltzing over to Tessai lazily with the usual grin in place.

"Tessai-san, we shall be fine for now. Please leave until I request your services again."

Tessai bowed deeply and muttered a 'yes Urahara-sama' before getting into the limo and carefully driving back the way he came through the grass.

A sigh of relief came from Ichigo as his random new enemy disappeared from sight, and the teenager found himself noticing his eyes drooping from lack of sleep.

"Urahara, let's go already. I'm sleepy."

"Yes, yes! Follow me, my young fellow!"

Yoruichi was sticking close to Ichigo, practically leaning all her weight on him as they walked. She slung an arm over his shoulders and whined into his ear.

"Ichi, carrrrry me~" He pouted and tried to move aside but instead Kitty tightened her grip and he sighed.

"But I'm tired too~" He whined back. "Yeah, but I'm more tired, I'm on _those _days and I'm pissed we had to leave in the first place. So carry me!" Ichigo sighed in relent, too tired to deal with it all and decided it was easier to just carry Yoruichi. He nodded and the woman clapped her hands in joy, quickly hopping onto his back and sighing in content.

When Kisuke pulled to a halt in front of them Ichigo was left to wonder what the hell the man was thinking.

A tree. A normal tree, with brown bark and luscious green leaves that fluttered noisily whenever the wind picked up, that's what Ichigo found himself looking at. It was a single tree in the clearing Kisuke had previously pointed to, but how was this Las Noches? Whatever Urahara was doing, Ichigo hoped it was good, otherwise he was going to be royally pissed off.

Kisuke knocked his knuckles twice on the tree before backing away and gazing at the supposed 'assassin's base' he had proclaimed it was. Nothing happened for a moment, and Ichigo was on the verge of either passing out or getting so irritated he would kill his teacher right here and now.

"Ichigo, watch this." Yoruichi muttered into his ear while resting her chin on his shoulder and keeping her eyes glued to the tree just like Kisuke was doing. So he did what she said and let his gaze fall on the part of the tree Urahara had knocked on, and it lingered there for an excruciatingly long minute or two before something actually started to happen. He blinked in confusion, and by the time his eye had reopened from the blink, there was a hole in the tree with a hidden staircase concealed in the darkness.

Ichigo groaned at having to carry Yoruichi down the staircase and he realized that it was the reason she asked him to do so. He threw a accusing look at the women he saw as a mother figure and only received a grin for his attempted glare.

Slowly the three made their way down the long spiral staircase, with Urahara leading and Ichigo with Yoruichi coming up behind him. Motion sensor lights came on as Kisuke walked past them, watching the stairs carefully in case something unexpected was to happen. Ichigo groaned loudly as the stairs seemed to keep going and going. He was practically sleep-walking with an almost asleep Yoruichi on his back for crying out loud!

After torturous minutes of nothing but the sounds of shoes hitting the metal stairs, a bright light poured into Ichigo's vision and blinded him for a moment. It jerked Kittty awake and had him staggering a bit before he rightened the both of them. He looked up to see Urahara in the same blinded state, since they were all so use to the dim stair lights they had been following for several minutes now. The stairs ended in a large lobby; with a ceiling so high it made Ichigo dizzy just to look up at it. The room was empty, save the five people standing in the middle of it. Some were smiling while the others were openly frowning at the newcomers, with hatred blooming towards Ichigo and his friends.

Urahara walked towards the small group of people while Ichigo followed silently behind without question while Yoruichi eyed them all warily from her perch on Ichi's back. The room was white. Very white, with no dust or dirt anywhere to be seen. The ceiling was white with white walls and a matching white tile pattern to match it all. Ichigo was actually surprised to see that the edges of the room were lined with black, the only other color besides white.

How _boring._

Ichigo watched as a man stepped forward with a warm smile on his face that seemed very deceiving to Ichigo, to shake hands with the blond man when they were in touching distance. The other four men standing in the room just watched the small group of three. It was all really rather weird to Ichigo.

"Sousuke-chan, how nice to see you again!" His voice was oddly chipper considering their situation. Ichigo was more than nervous and uncomfortable, which weren't really normal emotions for the assassin. He was kneading his hands into the bottom of Yoruichi's thighs, just wanting to rub his hands through his hair instead-which Urahara claimed was his nervous habit. The violet haired woman looked down at the teen and started to run a hand through his hair to sooth him, which worked on some level.

"Kisuke, it's a pleasure to see you again after all these years. We have much to catch up on."

"Yes, I agree!"

"Yoruichi, it's nice to see you again too. You look even lovelier than you did when you were young." Urahara's brown-haired friend commented on the woman still on Ichigo's back. Well wasn't he the charmer.

"Nice to see you also, Sousuke." She nodded with a serious expression on her face. She hopped off of Ichigo's back then and walked over to Aizen to greet him properly. He grasped her hand and layed a gentle kiss on her tanned knuckles, she giggled a bit and bowed slightly.

"And who is this?" Sousuke said while letting his sharp brown eyes graze over Ichigo's form. Ichigo almost gasped when brown eyes locked together. Sousuke's eyes were piercing and Ichigo wanted to cower under his intense gaze. This man sure was something.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." The teenager said, finally gathering his wits.

"I am Aizen Sousuke, the creator and owner of this establishment." Aizen said with his deep voice. A piece of hair that was dangling in Aizen's face distracted Ichigo momentarily, with his ADHD and all, but wasn't really a visible change to the others in the room.

"Let me introduce you all to my some of my dear Espada, my regulars who stay here often and follow my rules diligently." Aizen pointed to a man with flamboyant pink hair and glasses perched upon his nose. He was wearing some sort of uniform, which looked almost the same as all the other people, including Aizen himself.

"Szayel Aporro Granz." Said man nodded and waved his hand in a child-like manner. He had pink hair...? How odd.

He then pointed to a man with his hands tucked into his sleeves and squinted eyes. Ichigo couldn't help but compare the man to a fox as the teenager looked at him.

"Gin Ichimaru, my subordinate." Gin smirked at Ichigo, and for some reason it caused unpleasant chills to run up his spine. What a creepy guy...

"Kaname Tōsen, my other subordinate." A nod was received from Kaname, a dark skinned man with an orange collared shirt.

"And the youngest member of Las Noches, who is now officially nineteen." Aizen pointed his finger at the last person standing next to Gin with a scowl on his face. He looked like he really didn't want to be here right now. The man's hair was a baby blue color, which Ichigo was interested in since it was abnormal like his own orange hair, Yoruichi's purple hair and Szayel's pink hair. The man's eyes were a bright cyan color with small blue tattoos under his eyes, of the matching color. How peculiar.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

"Yo, berry-head."


End file.
